Preview: Coyotes at Wild

COYOTES (11-14-5) at WILD (17-8-4)
2 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, FS-AZ+, NHL.TV

Coyotes team scope

Defenseman Connor Murphy may play in the game Saturday. He took part in the Coyotes optional skate on Friday. He has missed three games because of an upper-body injury. Arizona has won three of its past four games since a six-game losing streak. The Coyotes are 5-9-3 on the road. Goaltender Mike Smith is expected to start. He is 3-1-0 and has allowed eight goals in the past four starts. Smith has made 40 or more saves in five of his past 10 starts.

Wild team scope

Backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper is expected to start for Minnesota. Kuemper is 2-2-1 with a .897 save percentage and 3.36 goals-against average in five games. He allowed five goals on 35 shots in his previous start, a 5-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 29. "[Dubnyk] isn't going to play 75 games," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We've got to give [Kuemper] an opportunity to get back in there and play." The Wild extended their season-best win streak to six with a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. The Wild have points in 11 of the past 12 games. Minnesota leads the NHL in team GAA (1.94) and save percentage (.937), and is second in shutouts (4). The Wild have allowed 59 goals in 29 games, second-fewest in the League, and have allowed 40 goals in their past 23 games. The Wild are 10-3-0 at home and have won the past five home games.

Coyotes projected lineup

Brendan Perlini - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata
Tobias Rieder - Jordan Martinook - Shane Doan
Jamie McGinn - Peter Holland - Anthony Duclair
Lawson Crouse - Christian Dvorak - Josh Jooris
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Michael Stone
Alex Goligoski - Tony DeAngelo
Jakob Chychrun - Luke Schenn
Mike Smith
Louis Domingue
Scratched:Kevin Connauton, Ryan White
Injured:Max Domi (hand), Brad Richardson (leg), Connor Murphy (upper body)

Wild projected lineup

Zach Parise - Eric Staal - Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter - Erik Haula - Charlie Coyle
Chris Stewart - Tyler Graovac - Kurtis Gabriel
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Mathew Dumba
Marco Scandella - Christian Folin
Darcy Kuemper
Devan Dubnyk
Scratched:Nate Prosser, Teemu Pulkkinen Christian Folin
Injured:Zac Dalpe (knee), Victor Bartley (arm)

Status Update

Dalpe continues to practice but has not been cleared to play. He has missed 20 games because of a knee injury.

Who's Hot

Doan needs a goal to reach 400 in his NHL career. … Granlund has four goals and two assists on a five-game point streak. … Staal has three goals and an assist on a three-game point streak. … Niederreiter has a goal and four assists on a four-game point streak. … Coyle has 10 points in the past 11 games.